In my work with the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church, we had many conversations about the word “evangelical,” and the name “Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.” There are strong feelings about both, with plenty of people feeling like we should change our name, and ditch “evangelical” altogether.
We heard from many people that the word evangelical has very negative connotations, as it conjures up visions of self-righteous, judgmental Christians, talking down to/arguing with/threatening other people, demanding that they repent and believe, all in the name of sharing the good news. [Pretty ironic, when you think about it.]
Personally, I don’t agree with the argument that the word is irreparably compromised, but I am sympathetic. I imagine most, if not all, of us have seen or heard Christians on a public street corner with signs calling for people to repent or burn— as an extreme example— or have been turned off by the “my way is the only way” attitude of some Christians around specific beliefs and practices.
If you have ever had to say, “I’m Christian, but not that kind of Christian,” you know what I mean.
I say all this as background for talking about a really fabulous book, written by my colleague at Wartburg Seminary, Troy Troftgruben. The book is titled Bearing Witness in Acts and Today, and it uses the story of Acts (the birth and spread of the fledgling Christian Church through the work of the Holy Spirit in the early Christian disciples) to describe our call, in our time and place, to Christian discipleship: the call to bear witness.
Troy is aware of the loaded nature of the words “evangelical” and “evangelism,” which is why he uses the term bearing witness instead. He gives several reasons for preferencing this language, including the following:
- It lacks the baggage of “evangelism,” inviting a fresh look at an enduring call.
- The language is holistic and personal. It refers not to parroting stock information, but to speaking from one’s personal experience, which involves our whole selves.
- The language implies truth-telling. To bear witness is to give a clearer and fuller glimpse of the truth. [xvi]
Troy opens the first chapter of the book with this powerful quote by Henry Nowan:
One of the tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are and waste a lot of time and energy to prove what doesn’t need to be proved. We are God’s beloved daughters and sons, not because we have proven ourselves worthy of God’s love,
but because God freely chose us. [1]
I appreciate this quote as a way to begin the whole book, because it emphasizes that recognizing our core identity as beloved children of God is the fountain from which our witness flows. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are able to embrace our own story, and speak to our experiences of the living God. And this is the only way we can bear witness: “the story of Jesus cannot be good news for us in the abstract” [14].
The whole book is great, but I particularly liked the chapter on “Embodying the Story.” Troy writes: “Embodying the good news of Jesus is less about specific acts than it is a way of life—a way in which we act, live, and share with love toward other people. As such, it may be measured less by specific steps than by areas of our lives that are changed, influenced, or different [47-48]. He lists a whole page of examples, including random acts of kindness, our behavior in traffic, our relationships with neighbors, and our behavior on social media. It’s a great list, and offers excellent opportunities for self-reflection on how we are showing up as Christians in different spaces in our daily lives.
I also love chapter 5, “Conversing about the Story.” I can sum up the message of this whole chapter in one sentence: one of the best ways to bear witness is to listen well. What a great flipping of the script of traditional interpretations of evangelism, which is almost always talking: getting someone else to listen and come around to our way of thinking. But instead, in this chapter, the emphasis is on hearing: meeting others where they are, and paying attention to them—letting their needs and concerns guide the conversation. In this way, by paying attention to those we come in contact with daily, and engaging them with openness and curiosity, we are able to “join where God is active” [88]. How exciting to be open to experiencing how the Holy Spirit is working in my neighbor in ways I hadn’t seen before or imagined!
The last chapter before the conclusion is called “Sharing the Story as a Way of Life.” Here, Troy emphasizes that, “Faithful witness is not something for professionals…More than anything, faithful witness is a way of life. And it is best done by everyday people wherever they are, wherever they live, with whomever they interact. While it deserves intentionality, faithful witness is less of program or strategy than it is a way of life” [116].
I really love this insight, and it also resonates with one of the overarching goals of The CaSTLE Project, which is that Christian witness in the world is not about bringing people to church, but about discipleship in word and deed, at home, at the workplace, in the coffee shop, and at a high school soccer game or orchestra concert. It isn’t rocket science: “Faithful witness happens where we are—not where we wish to be, where we intend to be, or where we ‘ought’ to be” [123].
I want to quote from the very last section, because it brings the point home so powerfully why these insights matter so much for Christian life today. Troy writes:
In a 2023 Atlantic article, Jake Meador makes an observation about American society in the twenty-first century:
Contemporary America simply isn’t set up to promote mutuality, care, or common life. Rather, it is designed to maximize individual accomplishment as defined by professional financial success…Workism reigns in America, and because of it, community in America, religious community included, is a math problem that doesn’t add up. [138]
In response to this, Troy argues that “What Christian communities are called to today is to bear witness to an alternative way of life, patterned after the way of Jesus, centered in the transforming power of the gospel” [139].
There is another way, and we who are followers of Christ have seen it, even if only in glimpses, and we have experienced its transformative power.
Bearing witness through the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives can be an invitation for others to come and see, and believe, and be transformed.
Happy Lutheran 